NATIONAL BRIEFING | WEST; California: Marijuana Plants Burned

By SOLOMON MOORE

Published: November 20, 2008

A record number of marijuana plants were uprooted and burned in California this year, the authorities said. The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, a local and federal task force, closed out the marijuana growing season by announcing that it had destroyed 2,905,232 plants, a slight increase over last year. The street value of the plants is estimated at $11.6 billion. Outdoor crops are usually harvested in California in late September or early October. About 143 people were arrested in connection with the plant seizures, the task force said. The largest number of marijuana farms were found in the Central Valley and in Northern California.